Here's how the word evolved:
* French: "pompon" (small apple, little melon)
* Middle English: "pompion" (adopted from French)
* Modern English: "pumpkin" (simplified from "pompion")
Interestingly, the word "pumpkin" wasn't initially used for the vegetable we know today. It referred to various types of gourds and squashes in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was only later that it became specifically associated with the large, orange, edible gourd.